khalat

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: kha‧lat

Noun

khalat (plural khalats)

1. A type of native gown worn in parts of Central Asia.
   • 1870, George Kennan, letter, 12 Sep 1870, University of Washington Press 2003 (Vagabond Life), p. 93:

     Russian faces and dress have almost entirely disappeared and in their places are the enormous fur caps, long khalats, daggers and pistols of the swarthy Daghestan mountaineers and the black stupid faces of the Kalmuck Tartars.

   • 1966, Elizabeth E. Bacon, Central Asians Under Russian Rule, Cornell 1980, p. 63:

     The khalat was held in place with a girdle; among the upper classes, the richness of the buckle gave a clue to the rank of the wearer.

   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 330:

     Guards armed with scimitars and wearing long, brightly coloured khalats, or silk coats, stood at its gates, while an excited crowd of Khivans lined the way to see the giant figure of the Englishman pass.